Bakersfield College (BC) held a Houchin blood drive near the math/science (MS) building on Thursday, March 13 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Houchin blood drive welcomed students and locals looking to donate blood to help the community. Houchin was providing a box of Girl Scout cookies and a Raising Cane’s 22 oz lemonade voucher after a successful donation. Their blood donation goal for Thursday was a total of 45 units.
Madeline Fountain, a student at BC, donated during the blood drive. Fountain stated it was her 5th time donating full blood. She started donating blood in high school and she continued to donate as she believes it’s a good thing to do. By donating blood Fountain feels as if she’s giving back to the community and helping patients. She also mentioned that Houchin is generous with the rewards given after donating.
Leslie Campos, a CRC, had recently started working for Houchin. Campos originally was planning on entering the finance field but an opportunity at Houchin opened and she decided to take up the job. Campos stated that she chose to work for Houchin because they educate students on blood donations and the importance of it. Campos herself has donated blood at least 3 times. Campos mentioned her reasoning and why she encourages others to donate was because it’s helping others beyond yourself. Mothers and babies often need transfusions, so by donating she feels as if it’s helping them out.
David Nieto, a mobile supervisor for Houchin, has donated blood around 18 to 19 times since 2010. Nieto mentioned his grandma had cancer and seeing her getting transfusions showed him how important it is to donate blood. Nieto saw her looking really pale then looking healthier after her transfusions really made him appreciate donors. He stated doctors can’t replace blood and it makes a world of a difference for patients.
Around 1:30 p.m. Campos mentioned that they had around 24 units of blood. Campos connected the reason for lack of donation to the lack of promotions, later Nieto agreed with Campos. Nieto mentioned the usage of social media to help promote. Apps like Instagram and TikTok could help BC and Houchin target college students to inform them of upcoming blood drives. It can also help teach students the importance of blood donations.
Houchin has locations on Oswell, Bolthouse and Truxtun open for anyone looking to donate blood and help their community.
